Sports Psychology Essay

Management of performance and competitive anxiety can be challenging. The first strategy would be to consult with a clinical psychologist, who will often suggest a behavioural approach. These approaches have been found to be the optimal coping strategy for sport-related anxiety, specifically Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) (Patel et

Sports—which involve emotion, competition, cooperation, achievement, and play—provide a rich area for psychological study. People involved in sports attempt to master very difficult skills, often subjecting themselves to intense physical stress as well as social pressure. research has expanded into numerous areas such as imagery training, hypnosis, relaxation training, motivation, socialization, conflict and competition, counseling, and coaching. Specific sports and recreational specialties studied include baseball, basketball, soccer,

Try to mimic the exact environment that you experience on game day, from music and drinks to watching a sports game. This will help take off the heat during your next competition.

Sports psychology deals with the mental and emotional aspects of physical performance. It involves describing, explaining and predicting attitudes, feelings and behaviours in an attempt to improve performance. In the film 'Coach Carter,' directed by Thomas Carter, sport psychology is used effectively to enhance the performance of a high school basketball team. However, this improved performance is not limited to the basketball court, it extends into the classroom where the students use goal setting, motivation, concentration and confidence control, ultimately to become accepted into college, avoiding a life of drugs, gangs and prison.

Robert Cantu discusses the lessons that can’t be learned in sports like tennis or golf. He writes, “In football, a lineman can execute a crackerjack block that clears the way for the runner to burst through the hole. The runner trips on his feet and plays ends with no gain. Or the opposite occurs and we mess up at the expense of teammates. That’s analogous to real life, isn’t it?” In a sport, one does the best they can, expecting the same from the other team, and is content with whatever result. Pressure is also a crucial learning aspect in sports. Most athletes love the pressure a game or competition has; it keeps the athletes on their toes and ready to overcome the challenge set in front of them. The responses that these athletes give under pressure is amazing and gives them the self-motivation they need to

The two opponents strut up to the center before the faceoff. They crouch down into battle position with cold sweat dripping down their faces. I notice little twitches from the opponent, while Irondale’s center player is calm and sturdy as he awaits the whistle. Suddenly the whistle blows and the game has begun. At first glance, it looks like the players are running around frantically, but as I continued to keep watching the strategy and skills being exercised became very clear. From the swiftness of each pass to the teammates cheering on the bench, everything seemed to be in synch with perfect

In a competitive environment, pressure creates mistakes & malfunctions. Even your concern with the outcome of the match can lead to a broad spectrum of experiences.

those matches I would not know how to control my nervousness, before the tournament I felt

Ever since I was a kid baseball has been a big part of my life. Whether I’m watching it with my dad on tv, or I’m suiting up to play under the lights on a friday night. Nerves had always played a huge part when it came to just an hour before game time. My whole body would tense up and I would feel anxious. This, of course, is a serious problem for any athlete who wants to compete at the best of their abilities. My biggest issue was always playing in the “big game”, or any game that would put an excessive amount of pressure on me. Which, when it came to me, was basically every game I played in.

There are a series of periods that teams go through in making their decisions. The first is the preparation period, where the coaches and players anticipate the actions the opponents intend to perform and the probability of the actions. This early stage process is the one where video observation is used, studying the opponent’s strengths, weaknesses, and styles of play.

Imagine stepping up to the plate and hitting a home run. When you play baseball, your mental game is just as important as your physical skills. A game puts you under pressure to succeed. Your mind has to work well under stress for you to do your best.

It can be determined by the results presented that athletes in one way or another do in fact experience pre-game jitters. In turn, this can negatively impact an athlete’s performance.

Many athletes would agree that they have felt butterflies in their stomach or a sudden rush of adrenaline before an important game. This feeling can either translate into legendary performances or monumental failures. According to Sharon D. Hoar (2007), to fully comprehend anxiety’s effect on performance, one must understand the discrimination between two unique sets of sources: trait and state anxiety, and cognitive and somatic anxiety. Anxiety symptoms are numerous and unique to every athlete. Hoar suggests that athletes might report cognitive symptoms (eg. Inability to focus), somatic symptoms (eg. Sweaty palms), or both. The author discusses a variety of sources of anxiety and argues that it can have both positive and negative effects

With past research exhibiting that pre-performance routines can improve performance and reduce choking during high-pressure situations such as post season games, Balk, Adriaanse, de Ridder and Evers (2013) sought out how emotion regulation could be a major factor in the reason why. They looked at the effectiveness of emotion regulation strategies in helping with choking. Experienced golfers self-reported arousal and anxiety during pressurized situations. Two aspects of emotion regulation, reappraisal and distraction, were examined. Reappraisal and distraction were

Therefore, as mentioned before, arousal regulation is a particular coping mechanism which athletes can greatly benefit them in order to excel in their physical and mental performance when playing a sport. Studies have shown that these anxiety reducing techniques greatly benefit individuals while working under pressure. Somatic anxiety reduction consists of becoming aware of one 's physical symptoms that